The present invention relates to voting systems in general and, in particular, to methods and systems for adjudicating ballots utilizing ballot images.
Electronic tabulation of voter-marked paper ballots has been used in elections for some time. Such systems may provide efficient vote tabulation if ballots are received without any errors, modifications, or write-in candidates included on the ballot. Electronic tabulation systems for voter-marked ballots may include optical scanners that scan the voter-marked ballots. Such ballots may have a target area that is evaluated by a computer that receives an image of the scanned ballot to determine if a vote is cast for a particular election, such as a bubble or square next to a candidate's name on a ballot. Electronic tabulation systems may also receive ballots generated from direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines, in which a voter may electronically enter votes without a voter-marked paper ballot.
In some instances optical scan systems may not be able to determine with high confidence that a particular vote has been cast. For example, a voter may partially fill in a target area next to a candidate name, may place a mark next to the target area rather than filling in the target area, and/or soil the ballot in some fashion (e.g., coffee stain).
Furthermore, in many jurisdictions voter intent is used as a basis for evaluating and adjudicating ballots for purposes of tabulating votes. Thus, if a voter improperly completed a ballot with a mark outside of a target area, a review of the ballot may indicate that the voter intended to cast a certain vote, and thus the ballot should be properly tabulated to include the intended vote. Similarly, a voter may mark an area for a particular candidate, and afterward realize that they made an error or change their mind. The voter may cross out the vote and mark a different area for a different candidate, and make a note such as, for example, writing “not this one” next to the crossed-out mark. An electronic scanning and tabulation system may not tabulate such a vote properly, while a human review of the ballot may readily reveal that the voter did intend to vote for the different candidate. Such instances may consume a significant amount of resources at the polling place or later, when the votes recorded on the ballots are being tabulated.
Furthermore, many jurisdictions have a number of voters that vote through a mail-in ballot, and in some elections the voting may be done exclusively through mail-in ballots. Such mail-in ballots may have an increased likelihood of votes requiring adjudication, as the voter is not able to simply ask for a new ballot if they improperly mark or otherwise soil their original ballot. Furthermore, voters may complete mail-in ballots at their home, which may increase the likelihood that a ballot will be soiled with food or drink stains, which may lead to incorrect vote tabulation by an optical scan tabulation system.